Govt vetoes Thai elections until calm restored
Thailand will not hold elections as demanded by anti-government protesters until passions from more than two-months of political violence are calmed, a key minister said today.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier promised polling on November 14 as part of a reconciliation plan to end often-violent protests that crippled the capital’s central business district for weeks.
But when the proposal was rejected by the so-called Red Shirts, Mr Abhisit said the deal was off and followed that with a military operation this week that cleared the streets but sparked rioting and arson attacks.
“We need to make sure that emotions have cooled to the extent that candidates from all parties can feel safe in campaigning anywhere in the country. Frankly we would not feel safe doing that today,” Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said in speech in Tokyo.
While the protest has largely ebbed in Bangkok, fears persist that the quiet restored to Thailand’s capital after the bloody crackdown may just be a respite from violence and political polarisation that could continue for years.
Scattered arson and looting was reported by local media late yesterday and early today as rioters set fire to a bank and broke into a convenience store to steal food and cash.
Mr Korn said that in principle the government could agree to early elections as long as there was confidence that they would be free and fair and some measure of calm had been restored.
“And if we can do that in November, we will do it in November. If it takes a little bit longer than that, we’ll give it the necessary time that is required,” he said.
The leaders of the Red Shirt movement, taken into custody, have already threatened to return to fight for their cause.
The government declared yesterday it had mostly quelled 10 weeks of violent protests in the capital as buildings smouldered, troops rooted out die-hard holdouts and some residents cautiously attempted a return to normal life a day after a military operation cleared the main commercial district of thousands of demonstrators, leaving 15 dead and 119 injured.
